Wildfire Run

by Dee Garretson

  18

  Trapped

  Luke could feel his insides twisting up, and in his fury he wanted to hit someone. He tried to get around Isabelle, but the agent grabbed him.

  “Luke! Get control of yourself!” she ordered.

  “How far away is it?” Through his rage Luke heard the worry in Adam’s voice and saw he was on his cell phone. Behind him, Luke could see that people were pouring out of the buildings. A group of Marines started jogging up the main road.

  “What’s going on, Adam?” Isabelle asked.

  Adam snapped his phone shut. “The forest fire east of here Sal called in is spreading. Just as a precaution, we are all going to go back to Washington. The camp will be shut down until the fire is under control. There’s an evacuation plan we have practiced, so let’s just follow the procedure. Sal is meeting us in front of Aspen.”

  “Adam, what about Comet!” Luke tried to keep his voice down. “Were they testing that section?”

  “Comet will be fine,” Adam said. “The testing has halted so we can evacuate. I’m sure the fire won’t spread this far, and we’ll send someone back for Comet as soon as we can.”

  “I think I smell the fire,” Callie said suddenly. “How close is it?” She wrapped her arms around herself.

  “If you can smell it, it’s probably not too far away,” Theo said. “I think I can smell it too.”

  Callie gave a strangled whisper: “I don’t like fire.”

  “Isabelle, call for another agent to join us ASAP,” Adam said. “Luke, you can stand at the edge of the woods and call for Comet. He’ll come back. We have a few minutes before the cars are ready. As soon as another agent gets here, I’m going to go talk to Sal and work out some details. Let’s do this one step at a time, but you have to promise not to go into the woods.” Adam moved closer as if afraid Luke would bolt.

  “I’m not leaving without Comet.” Luke walked toward the forest and stopped just on the edge. Both agents followed a step behind.

  “He’ll come back. Why don’t you two help Luke call for him?” Adam said to Theo and Callie.

  “Comet!” Luke screamed. “Comet!” He wished he had trained Comet better. He meant to, but he had never gotten around to it. He thought about making a run for the woods, except he knew there was no way he could get in without one of the agents tackling him.

  “Comet!” Theo and Callie both yelled together. “Tocho!” Callie called.

  Everyone waited, and Luke strained to see any bit of white amid the trees. There was nothing.

  “Luke.” Sal came up, startling Luke so much he jumped and bumped into Sal’s arm. “Luke, we have to go.”

  “What’s going to happen to Comet?” Luke said, watching Sal’s eyes. Sal wouldn’t lie to him.

  Sal hesitated a moment. “I don’t know, but dogs are smart, and they’re good at taking care of themselves. Now, we’ve talked many times about emergencies. You know what your father would expect you to do.”

  Luke’s throat closed up and he felt tears in his eyes. “Yes,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  “What about me?” Callie asked. “Where’s my dad?” Luke was surprised to hear how small her voice sounded.

  “You are coming with us, miss,” Sal said. “The agent with your father has already been notified and they’re all on their way to Washington. Theo, I have someone calling your family. They’ll know you’re on your way back too.” Sal spoke into his microphone: “Speeder is on his way.”

  Luke followed Sal, turning around every few steps in case Comet came out of the woods. He couldn’t see anything moving in the underbrush, but birds kept flying up out of the trees and then over their heads and away. When they reached the parking lot by Aspen Lodge, another of Luke’s agents, Grant, stood near the three SUVs.

  “We left the robot by the tree house,” Theo said.

  “My laptop is up in it,” Luke said.

  “Tocho is still—” Callie said.

  “We need to go now,” Sal interrupted, pointing to the cars. “The first rule of an evacuation is not to take time to get things. I’m sure they’ll have the fire under control before it even gets close, so your things will be fine. We’ll have someone collect them when the camp opens back up.”

  “I see smoke.” They all looked as Callie pointed. Gray puffy smoke rose up in the east. It was so thick no one could mistake it for fog now.

  “Luke, you will be in the middle car with your friends,” Sal said. “Adam, you drive Luke. Grant will go with you. Isabelle, you take the trail car.”

  Sal’s phone rang. They all waited while he listened. Luke saw the kitchen staff drive by in two white vans. A military truck full of Marines followed them.

  “Let’s go,” Sal said, motioning them to the middle car. He waited until they were inside and then he got in the lead car.

  When they were all seated, Grant said, “Buckle up, everyone.” He leaned over the back and watched them fasten their seat belts. As the SUVs pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, another truck full of Marines slowed to let them in front.

  “Is everybody leaving?” Luke asked. He couldn’t imagine Camp David empty. “Even the command center staff?”

  “Everybody,” Adam said. “It’s just a precaution because of the dry conditions and the wind. Don’t worry.”

  “What about the fire trucks here? Why can’t they just go put out the fire?” Luke asked.

  “They’re already headed to it, but there’s no ready supply of water, besides what’s in the pumper truck. I’m sure they will get it under control, though.”

  “Are you sure?” Callie asked. “Wildfires in California get out of control all the time.”

  “It’s not the same here,” Theo said. “The vegetation is totally different, and that affects the speed of a fire. Of course, the winds and all the dead plants aren’t going to help.”

  “Great,” Callie said.

  “Callie, did your dad know you had the kitten?” Adam asked from the front seat.

  “No!” The last thing she wanted was for her dad to get in trouble. “I just had him in my pocket the whole time. My dad told me to give it to the lady at the hotel. He didn’t know anything about it,” Callie said, hoping he would believe her.

  “That took some nerve.” Theo sounded overly impressed, Luke thought, especially since Theo never got in trouble or broke any rules.

  Callie took off her jacket and Luke saw the camera around her neck.

  “You’re not supposed to bring a camera in here either,” Luke said.

  Grant turned around to look at her, frowning.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Callie said quickly. “We’re leaving. And Agent Erickson was checking to see if it was okay anyway.”

  Luke watched out the window as they left the center of the camp and went down the road through the woods. Nothing moved as far as he could see. He supposed there weren’t any Marines still patrolling around the trees. When the SUVs were only a few hundred yards from the gate, a flash of white caught Luke’s attention.

  “There’s Comet,” he shouted. “Stop, Adam!” Adam jerked back, startled at Luke’s voice, but he kept going. Comet was racing through the woods in their direction, his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth, flopping up and down as he ran.

  “Adam, stop!” Luke shouted again.

  “Grant, tell Sal we’re stopping for a few seconds to pick up the dog,” Adam said.

  Grant spoke into his microphone as Adam stepped on the brake.

  “Sal says make it fast,” Grant told Luke. “Don’t get out of the car; just open the door.”

  Luke opened the door and called, “Comet!”

  As soon as he heard Luke’s voice, Comet barked. When he was a few feet away, he took a huge leap and landed on Luke’s lap. Luke slammed the door as Comet danced around, licking Luke’s face as if he hadn’t seen him for a year.

  “We’re ready, Adam,” Luke said. He wanted to put his arms around Comet and hug him, but he didn’t want
anyone to think he was being sappy. He grabbed the terrier’s head between his two hands and ruffled his fur. “You mutt. Don’t ever do that again. It’s not worth getting in trouble for a cat.”

  Callie made a funny sound beside him, like she was trying not to cry. Callie never cried.

  Luke scanned the woods for the cat, but he didn’t see Tocho.

  “I’m sure your kitten will be okay,” Theo said. “The fire probably won’t even come this far. It is extremely difficult to predict the path of a fire. There are so many variables.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Callie said.

  They were almost at the gatehouse. Both the inner electric fence’s gate and the outer wooden gate were open, and Luke could see the kitchen vans and one of the Marine trucks disappear out of sight as they went out the gate and down the hill. The camp commander, Colonel Donlin, was inside the gatehouse, speaking into a phone.

  Sal’s car was already through the gate when Luke heard a rumble of engines. A big group of motorcyclists came up the hill too fast, speeding toward the gates. Some veered off into the grass, and some came to a screeching halt, nearly hitting Sal’s SUV.

  Adam acted quickly, swinging the car around in a sharp turn. Everyone was thrown to the side. Comet’s toenails dug into Luke’s legs and Callie fell against him. When the car was a couple of hundred feet from the gate, Adam maneuvered so they came to a stop, putting the Marines’ vehicle in front of them. Luke turned around and saw that Isabelle had mirrored Adam’s moves so that the trail car was still behind them.

  Colonel Donlin came out of the gatehouse, motioning the Marines to go out the gate. Adam and Grant were talking to each other and into their microphones, their words so staccato Luke couldn’t even tell what they were saying. The Marines went through the gate, stopped right behind Sal’s vehicle, and poured out of the truck, lining up in front of the motorcyclists. The colonel went back into the gatehouse and the electric fence’s gate shut, leaving the two SUVs inside.

  “What’s going on?” Callie asked. “Who are those people on motorcycles?”

  “Probably just a group who didn’t realize they were on the wrong road,” Adam said. “Don’t worry. We’ll wait a few minutes until they move off.”

  “Are you sure they didn’t come here on purpose?” Luke asked Adam. “When you swung the car around like that, I thought you were worried.” He shifted in his seat, tapping on his leg, trying to see out the front window. It was hot in the car. Strapped in by the seat belt, he felt trapped.

  “Just a precaution.” Adam turned around and grinned. “Besides, I don’t get to try that maneuver much.”

  “Luke, sit back,” Callie said. “You’re squishing me.”

  Luke moved away from Callie but couldn’t stay still. He tried to see around the outside edge of Grant’s seat, but only Sal’s back was visible from that angle. If he could open the window, he would be able to get a better view, but he knew from experience the agents never allowed him to put his head out the window.

  “Luke, I don’t think anybody evil would wait outside the fence of Camp David to grab you just on the off chance a forest fire would make us leave,” Theo said. “That’s what you’re worried about, right? That’s what they told us at school before you started, about kidnappers and terrorists and stuff, to explain why the agents were there all the time.”

  “No, that’s not it.” Luke felt embarrassed that Theo knew what he was thinking. “Besides, nobody can break into an armored SUV,” he added, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

  “One of them has a teddy bear strapped to his handlebars. See?” Theo said. “That’s probably a good indication this isn’t a terrorist group.”

  “Maybe they came this way because of the fire,” Callie said.

  No one had a reply. They all sat watching Sal wave his arms at the lead motorcyclist, a man with long gray hair and a leather vest. An armed Marine sergeant took up a position right behind Sal. Luke could tell it was Hector. Hector was taller and skinnier than most of the other soldiers.

  Finally, the man held up his hands, as if giving in. The motorcyclists revved up their engines and turned around, heading back down the road.

  “We’re clear to go,” Adam said, putting the car into gear and moving forward. The electric fence’s gate began to open again. When they were within fifteen feet of the guardhouse, a herd of deer ran out of the woods, leaping crazily as they headed right for the vehicles. One tried to leap over Sal’s SUV but couldn’t clear it. The deer’s hooves pawed desperately at the slick surface until it fell back onto the pavement.

  Comet went crazy. He leaped into the front seat and up toward the windshield, and then ran back and forth across the dashboard. In one motion Luke unbuckled his seat belt and started climbing into the front seat to get Comet, but he lost his balance and fell against Adam, just as the dog tumbled off the dash onto Adam’s left arm, pulling Adam’s arm and the steering wheel to the left. The whole car swung left and off the road as Adam tried to throw Comet off him, but Comet slipped down on Adam’s feet.

  The SUV sped up and hit the gatehouse wall, the heavily armored vehicle plowing through it easily. Pieces of stone and glass from the shattering gatehouse windows exploded up on either side. Luke heard a screeching sound as his side of the car scraped against the wall and he felt his body moving sideways through the air. His head smashed against Adam’s headrest, his legs flying up, and his foot hit Callie or Theo; he couldn’t tell which.

  Theo yelled, “Callie!” but Luke didn’t look back, because he saw an arm come up over the front of the car and he knew Colonel Donlin was falling beneath it. The air bags in the front seat burst open. Comet shot up and catapulted over him as the car jerked to a stop. Luke closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain in his head. He heard sirens in the distance.

  “You okay, Luke?” Grant asked. Adam was talking into his microphone to Sal.

  “Yes,” Luke said, pushing himself back. “The colonel…he…”

  “I know,” Adam said. “Stay put.”

  Luke looked at Callie. Blood was pouring out of her nose as she lay against Theo, who was staring straight ahead, his head tipped to the side, a puzzled look on his face.

  “My door is blocked,” Grant said. “I’ll have to come out your side, Adam.” He slid over and out the door.

  Adam was already out, opening Theo’s door. Luke heard a creaking sound above them, then a much louder grinding noise.

  “Watch—” Adam’s voice was cut off as part of the gatehouse roof came crashing down.

  19

  The Gatehouse

  Horrified, Luke saw a beam hit Grant’s shoulder. The agent collapsed under the weight, falling down out of Luke’s view. Adam had disappeared too.

  “Luke, are you okay? Can you climb out?” Somehow Isabelle was already partway in the car next to Theo. “Who is bleeding? There’s a lot of blood. Luke, are you okay?”

  “Let’s get out,” Luke said to Callie. “Isabelle, Adam and Grant need help.”

  “Luke, listen to me. Are you hurt?”

  Isabelle’s voice reminded him of something Sal had drilled into him: “In an emergency, listen to the agents.”

  “I’m fine,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Callie’s nose is bleeding because I think my foot hit her. We’re all fine. Now help Adam and Grant…and the colonel. I saw him go down in front of the car.”

  “I will, but I’m going to help you first.” Isabelle took hold of Theo’s arm. “Come on out, Theo. Watch where you’re stepping. Callie, tip your head back and pinch your nose,” Isabelle ordered. “It will stop the bleeding.”

  “I lost my glasses,” Theo said. “I think I hit my head. I lost my glasses.”

  “I didn’t see what happened to Adam!” Luke said. “Where is he?”

  “Luke, listen to me. The faster you all get out of here, the faster I can help Adam.”

  “I lost my glasses,” Theo repeated.

  “Can you unbu
ckle your seat belt, Callie?” Isabelle asked. Callie didn’t move.

  Luke took a deep breath. He knew Isabelle would insist on getting them out first. “I’ll do it,” he said. Callie’s face was a mix of tears and blood. She kept wiping the tears from one eye, smearing more blood each time. He reached over her to undo the clasp.

  The electricity was out and the fallen beams were obscuring most of the remaining windows of the three sides of the gatehouse still standing. He couldn’t see anything but flashes of green trees and hazy sky though them.

  “We need to leave the building before anything else falls.” Isabelle took Callie’s arm and guided her away from the car, and then reached in for Luke.

  “I don’t need help,” Luke said. He climbed out, balancing on a pile of rubble, and saw Adam crumpled on the ground a few feet from the car.

  “No!” Luke yelled, pushing his way around Isabelle and kneeling beside Adam.

  Isabelle knelt down beside him. “He’s breathing, Luke. I can see his chest moving. I think he got hit in the head when the beam fell and is just unconscious. Now you have to get out of the building. Someone will be here soon to help him and the others.”

  Luke bent toward Grant. The agent lay face-down, pinned by the beam resting on his back.

  “Get up, Luke, and get out of here.” Isabelle pulled on his shirt, nearly tipping him backward, and then when he didn’t stand, she grabbed him under his arms and hauled him up. Theo was already scrambling over piles of stone toward the gaping hole made by the SUV. He tripped and fell to his knees, then picked himself up, shaking his head but not saying anything. Callie stood close by, staring at the debris, not moving. A beam resting on top of the rubble shifted, creaking, and then she rushed after Theo, little squeaks coming from her throat.